Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir

Ton Koopman founded Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra (ABO) in 1979. The group consists of internationally renowned baroque specialists who meet up several times a year and work together to prepare and perform new exciting programs. For the musicians each concert is a new experience and Koopman's boundless energy and enthusiasm are a sure guarantee for the highest quality.

Amsterdam Baroque Choir (ABO&C) was founded in 1992 and it made its debut during the Holland Festival of Early Music in Utrecht performing the world première of the Requiem (for 15 voices) and Vespers (for 32 voices) by H.I.F. Biber. The recording of both of these works won the Cannes Classical Award for the best performance of 17th/18th century choral music. For its rare combination of textural clarity and interpretative flexibility, ABO&C is considered among today’s most outstanding choirs.

In 1994 Ton Koopman and ABO&C embarked upon the most ambitious recording project of the last decades: the integral recording of Bach’s secular and sacred cantatas. For this extraordinary project Koopman and his ensemble received the Deutsche Schallplatten-Preis Echo Klassik. In 2014 ABO&C finished another grand project: performing and recording all the works by Dieterich Buxtehude, a great source of inspiration for the young Johann Sebastian Bach. The final volume of this series was released in 2014.

That year also marked the 35th anniversary of ABO and featured an extensive tour in the Netherlands and in Europe. The children’s theatrical music production ‘Oorwurm’, a project that Ton Koopman undertook together with his daughter Marieke Koopman, made baroque music of the highest quality accessible for young people throughout the Netherlands, thus fulfilling a life-long dream of Ton Koopman.

ABO&C have recorded all major baroque and classical works. Major recognitions include the Gramophone Award, Diapason d'Or, 10-Repertoire, Stern des Monats-Fono Forum, the Prix Hector Berlioz and two Edison Awards. In 2008 the ensemble and Ton Koopman have been honoured with the prestigious BBC Award, and in 2009, for the second time with an Echo Klassik Award for Vol. VII of Buxtehude Opera- Omnia.

Ton Koopman and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir are regular guests at the major concert halls and festivals of Europe, the USA and Asia.